Two cars stopped near the Saffron City police station in the middle of the night. The downpour had finally relented and only a few barely noticeable raindrops fell from the sky, easily ignored. Eight shadowy figures exited the cars and surrounded the structure, with intentions of breaking in. A third car stopped a little further away from the station and three people got out from it. Archer, Ariana and Aayla stopped a few feet away, hidden behind a near by billboard on the side of the road near the station. It was advertising some pokemon vitamins that supposedly served as preventive methods to complement the effects of the recently discovered antidote to the epidemic; if it was true or not, was questionable, but they were at least not harmful.

"It looks like she hasn't seen us yet, or pretended not to," Archer quietly stated, observing as the eight people managed to make their way inside the police station.

"If we go in too soon, she might change her plans and betray the other side to keep up her image with us," Ariana pointed out. "We won't expose her true colors like that."

"Then we'll wait and catch her in the act," Aayla had the expression of a wild Luxray waiting to pounce. Thus the three Rockets waited for a few more minutes, until the sound of a gunshot pierced the quiet stillness of the air.

With alarmed expressions, the three hurried towards the station to see what was going on. They stayed low and close to the walls as they made their way in. Naberrie was there along with seven other armed people. They noticed the arrival of someone new when the previously illuminated interior of the police station was shrouded in darkness due to Aayla's Haunter using night shade. "Don't stop Haunter, keep them all lost in the darkness."

A few stray shots were fired and some of Naberrie's men fell. The gunshots kept being exchanged by a few police officers and some of Naberrie's guards, while several government officials cowered in fear, seeking shelter behind the desks and holding on to them for dear life, lost in the frightening illusion of the night shade. Screams of agony were heard as the injured clung to life by a thread.

With goggles that allowed him to see past the foggy black mist and beyond the illusions, Archer made his way to the one leading the troublesome operation, Naberrie. "Don't try to do anything else that's troublesome," he commanded as he led her away.

"Team Rocket," Naberrie concluded, she had caught small glimpses of some suspicious movement near her house and was expecting someone from Team Rocket to show up sooner or later. "I'm ending this, it's better for you this way."

"This action was not authorized by the boss." Archer took away Naberrie's gun, which she surprisingly relinquished without protest.

"Stop shooting!" Ariana commanded as she sent out her Vileplume and ordered her to use, "sleep powder," as soon as Archer was close enough to the door so he would not get caught in it. The three Rockets along with Naberrie prepared to retreat and let the sleep powder do its job. After the danger of being caught by a bullet passed, they would take prisoners and sort things out. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. With the last of his strength, the real superintendent, a man in his late forties with a stern face, black eyes and thick dark gray hair, shot one last bullet, which caught Naberrie.

In a swift motion, her blue eyes full of fury, Naberrie snatched away the gun Archer had confiscated from her and returned fire. She couldn't see clearly where she was shooting though the night shade had begun to disperse and the sleep powder wasn't as thick. With a few shots in fast succession, she killed her target and a few others before collapsing.

xoxox xox xoxox

Only a few of Naberrie's men and several government agents survived that night's massacre. Most of those involved with the government believed that the killings were an act of Team Rocket and backed off from that point on. With the conspiracy against Team Rocket stopped before it could truly begin, the police headed to a new era where Team Rocket's secrets were forgotten in favor of a peaceful coexistence. The death of the real superintendent caused Davin, who had been acting as the public superintendent, to take his place and gain the position of police superintendent for real.

However, that night was not without serious consequences and the casualties of the police, government and Naberrie's personnel were not the only ones. Albeit Naberrie was quickly given first aid and taken to the Saffron City Hospital, where fueled by fear the doctors surrounded her immediately, she did not make it past that night. Giovanni's team was informed about the occurrences and they swiftly finished up their business at the Silph Co. building and headed to the hospital.

The atmosphere in the hospital was extremely tense with the presence of Team Rocket, but no one dared to ask them to leave. The staff hoped that after the unwelcomed invaders received the medical services they requested they would just go away without harming anyone. Naberrie's confession as heard by Archer, Ariana and Aayla as she ignored the doctor's instructions not to speak, was, "I did plan to betray him, I only wanted to earn his trust then take it all away." She gasped in pain, feeling her life slipping away from her. "I was too rash, too eager to force my cousin to trust me. Now that I must pay the ultimate price I have but one wish. Kenobi, please don't hurt Kenobi." Those were her final words.

From that point on things did calm down and life continued. Rune and Kenobi were devastated by the loss of Naberrie and blamed the police and government for her demise. Rune vowed to help Giovanni in any way, for he believed the gym leader had the power to take over the world, thus avenging Naberrie in a way, it was a power that Rune knew he did not possess. Troublesome as he could be at times with his overly eager attitude and loose tongue, Giovanni continued to work with Rune for many years, until eventually it was Kenobi's turn to take his father's place as the new and more competent Viridian City mayor.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the whole ordeal at Saffron City had ended, Davin received an official and secret communication asking him to continue his duties as the police superintendent as he saw fit and stating the government and police's intention to not provoke the mafia. Still at Pallet Town, Davin debated if he should head back to Viridian City or maybe to the main Kanto police department at Celadon City.

"You need a vacation." When Davin looked up from his pitiful position sitting on Samuel's Onix-hard couch holding his head in stress, he saw the image of himself staring back at him.

That strange young man, Petrel, never ceased to amaze him or creep him out. "Don't you dare impersonate me!" During his stay at the Oak Laboratory under Petrel's surveillance, Davin had to endure watching him impersonate several people including Samuel and even Delia. Needless to say, he was furious about the latter.

At that point in time Delia arrived at the Oak Laboratory in the company of Leah, while Giovanni, Archer and several others busied themselves at headquarters with damage control and making sure the police and government kept their offer of a peaceful coexistence. "Hide, I'll get the door," leaving no room for argument, Petrel pushed Davin away towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Samuel was having a battle with a malfunctioning coffee maker. With all the stress in the air, he really needed his caffeine. As for Davin, he was an avid coffee drinker and had been swiftly consuming cup after cup ever since his arrival. Samuel thought it was difficult to deal with a coffee high Davin, but he knew from experience that his caffeine withdrawals were worse, so he didn't deny him the warm drinks.

Still in his disguise, Petrel opened the door to find Delia. "I was so worried about you, come in, come in." Once Delia and Leah were inside, Petrel, still disguised as Davin, locked the door and exclaimed in agony, "why must you be involved with those terrible people?" Then he hugged his supposed daughter protectively.

"It's okay, everything will be fine now," Delia paused as she realized that something was off and snatched away Petrel's wig. "Petrel, that's not funny!"

Before Petrel could reply, Davin peeked out from the kitchen and saw Delia. He hurried to her, "Delia, do you know what kind of call I received. They think I'm with them, with the mafia! I get the impression that they want me to be a sort of mediator between the police and the mafia. You need to get out of this, get to safety!"

"Dad, it's okay!" Delia raised her voice to be heard over Davin's panic and tried to comfort him as best she could. "Petrel, it's actually a good thing you're dressed like that. Report back to base so that you can get the update on the recent happenings, Leah and I will stay here."

"Wait," Davin protested, "you actually want him to take my place?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You're stressed; you can't handle this right now. You need a vacation; it's for your own good," Delia tried to convince him.

"I told you so," Petrel commented in reference to Davin needing a vacation, then left to return to Viridian City.

"Things are delicate right now so it's best if you allow Petrel to handle the situation in your place until everything has calmed down. Don't worry, it will all work out," Delia insisted, trying to keep her voice from becoming unsteady.

Observing his daughter's face, Davin frowned, with Samuel mimicking the worried expression while looking at Delia, now standing beside her father. "You've been crying," Davin's fury began to rise again, "that man, that terrible man from the mafia made you cry!"

"No, that's not it!" Delia shot back, angered that Giovanni was falsely accused. "Someone was hurt and I felt sad for her. I didn't know her well, I couldn't even honestly call her my friend, but I was sad for her, for her husband and for their son. Giovanni consoled me, he would never hurt me, he always protects me. Please understand, I love him and he loves me, nothing can change that."

Both Samuel and Davin could relate to Delia's words. Both men had been married at a point in time and both had lost their loves to death. "Love is precious; it is something to be cherished for all the days that one is given," Samuel voiced; he had already accepted Delia's choice.

"There's no changing your mind, is there?" Davin realized. "I don't approve of this and I probably never will, yet I have no choice but to accept it. Just please, be safe, don't take unnecessary risks. Try to remember your values, don't cause uncalled for pain and don't allow it to be caused to you."

Delia smiled to reassure the two men who were both in a way fathers to her. "Everything will be alright. We will make sure it is."

Petrel took Davin's place for some time as the police superintendent, following Giovanni's instructions to guide Kanto to an era of relative peace, in which Team Rocket could grow without interference. After he returned to work, Davin soon grew tired of it and retired off to a quiet life in which he carried his regrets alongside his inaction. Surprisingly it was the Jenny of Viridian City who took his place as the new police superintendent. She had understood that the time wasn't right to try to fight and that perhaps forgetting past struggles and starting anew was the best course of action for both sides after all. For the time being there would be peace, the choices of the future would belong only to those of the future.

xoxox xox xoxox

Those events that took place many years ago were seemingly unrelated to the current mysteries of the present day, but they did indeed have a secret connection. It was a thin thread barely visible, but it was there. In the present day, Aayla's interference with the fate of the modified Luke clone known as number ten, led Giovanni, Ash and Comet to travel to a mysterious world were souls waited to be reborn for as long as their journey in the world of the living was unfinished and their final destination unclear. It was Giovanni's second trip there, which unlocked the previously sealed memories of his first visit. Along with those memories being unleashed, the seal that Mewtwo had placed upon Giovanni's memories of him started to significantly weaken.

After researching past data and discussing the situation with the Rocket executives, Giovanni found that the past was full of contradictions, specifically the time in which the Mewtwo project was supposedly declared a failure. With a nagging feeling of having forgotten something important, Giovanni set out to explore the ruins of New Island in hopes of solving the unknown mystery of what truly happened at the end of the Mewtwo experiments. Unknown to Giovanni, Ash not only knew what happened during the battle to recapture Mewtwo, but had also recovered his memories of the first time he met the clone pokemon at New Island.

After discovering some files containing images of Ash and other trainers that had journeyed to New Island by Mewtwo's invitation in the past, it became obvious that Ash had a vital piece of information concerning Mewtwo. With Giovanni's memories becoming clearer, Mewtwo would not be held in mystery anymore. Unexpectedly, the computer equipment where the files recovered from the New Island ruins were being viewed short circuited. While Giovanni focused on Mewtwo, the incident attributed to an unknown hacker and the possible consequences it hinted of, was left in the hands of the executives, Archer, Ariana, Proton and Petrel. At the same time, Aayla seemed to know more than she was telling and Binks' health, albeit improved, still showed signs of fragility.

Amidst the commotion, Ash received communication from Gary, urging him to go to Pallet Town. It was clear that Gary knew something about Team Rocket and wanted to clarify his information with Ash, no longer able to ignore what was in front of him. Hoping that Gary could wait in silence for a little longer, Ash made a deal with Giovanni. They would battle and the outcome of their battle would decide if Ash revealed the truth about Mewtwo or not. While Delia watched from the window of Giovanni's mansion near Victory Road, Ash and Giovanni ventured into the wilderness behind it for a suitable space to battle.

Standing apart the approximate distance of an average pokemon battle arena, Ash and Giovanni faced each other. The looks in their eyes seemed to say it all, as they spoke no more words before the battle began. Glalie and Golem each materialized from the red beams of their respective pokeballs in front of their trainers. Ever the trickster, Glalie considered freezing Ash with his ice beam, but stopped when he saw the look in his trainer's eyes. That serious look was something Glalie had never seen in his trainer before, even when an important battle was approaching. "Be careful Glalie, this won't be easy, ice beam!"

As the opening move went into effect, Giovanni reacted with a counter attack and ordered Golem to use "double edge!" The rock pokemon barreled forward hastily, with beams of ice narrowly missing him until he was reached by the cold attack. Several of the stone shapes that enclosed Golem's body were covered in ice as if the pokemon was encased in glass. The attack slowed Golem, but didn't stop him from approaching Glalie.

Glalie floated backwards in an attempt to dodge the rampaging Golem, quickly heeding Ash's command of "ice fang!" Aiming for the Golem's exposed limbs, Glalie bit into the rock pokemon's arm as hard as he could.

Golem growled in pain, unable to dodge the attack on time due to being slowed down by the chunks of ice that uncomfortably clung to his stone body. The solution to his predicament came in his trainer's next order, "earthquake!"

With Glalie still attached to his right arm, Golem focused to make the ground shake. Since Glalie was floating, the attack wouldn't hit him directly, but the shaking transmitted through Golem was enough to accomplish the move's purpose of making Glalie's ice fang lose its grip on Golem's arm.

From the mansion's window, Delia felt the earthquake, though the seismic proof structure remained solid and undamaged. As the terrain shifted, a few trees became inclined to the sides and some smaller ones fell. This allowed a slightly clearer view of the battle, albeit Delia's sight was still considerably obstructed by the vegetation. Most of all, it showed how intense the fight was right from the start.

The battle continued with a rapid succession of attacks, "use rock slide!" As soon as Golem was free from Glalie's ice fang, the pokemon was given new instructions, which would make use of the terrain to his advantage. The ground became filled with uneven creases as the land responded to the pokemon's power.

"Glalie, use blizzard, make it as strong as you can!" Ash tried to stop Golem from using the land in his attacks by covering it in snow and ice.

The move caused Giovanni to shift his strategy lightly and continue with "rock climb!" Chasing Glalie towards the rockier area at the edge of the cluster of trees, Golem once again went on the offensive. He had used a lot of energy, giving each attack everything he had and taking some damage along the way, but refused to give up, throwing frozen stones and trying to get Glalie down for a direct hit.

Seeing his pokemon in peril, Ash countered by calling for another attack and trying to encourage Glalie. "Don't give up Glalie, freeze Golem with hail!" A multitude of ice pebbles collided with Golem causing visible pain and discomfort. Golem was additionally having trouble moving on the ice field that had invaded their battle arena. However, the massive amount of energy Glalie put into freezing the land took its toll as the pokemon began to loose altitude while continuously using hail. At last Glalie's energy reached its limit as Golem slammed into him taking the opportunity to knock him out. Ash recalled the ice pokemon back into his pokeball, "it's okay Glalie, you fought well." Golem was very strong, but Ash had a good idea about what pokemon to send out against him. More focused on the battle, Ash was no longer as silent as in the beginning, albeit he was still on edge. "Serperior, I choose you!" The long and elegant grass pokemon emerged from the red beam of her pokeball with a proud look on her face.

Seeing that the ice on the ground was impairing Golem's movement, Giovanni tried to break it apart before it could be used against him. "Another earthquake, Golem!"

The state in which the terrain was left in from the previous battle gave Ash an idea, which he quickly put into play. "Serperior, get away from Golem and use solar beam!" It sounded as if Ash was guiding his pokemon to keep herself as safe as possible from the damage of the opposing attack, though in truth the defense's purpose was more so to improve offense. As Serperior charged her solar beam, her eyes met Ash's and with a discreet glance down, she understood and released her solar beam low close to the ground in the path of several chunks of ice left over from the previous round.

Realizing what was happening, Giovanni tried to warn his pokemon, "Golem, get out of the way!" Yet it was too late. Serperior's solar beam melted the ice creating a miniature river that driven by the aftershock of the rapid melting, collided with Golem in an odd water gun simulation.

Golem growled in pain at the unexpected blast of water and before he could recover, Ash chose the move that would end the round, "grass knot!" Acting swiftly, Serperior trapped Golem in a sort of grassy net, which caused him to trip and flail helplessly taking heavy damage.

Sure of her victory, Serperior grinned proudly, while Golem was left unconscious. Giovanni recalled Golem into his pokeball, but did not look surprised or angry. It was more as if he expected the battle to be close and knew that sooner or later Ash would catch up. Eyeing the proud Serperior, Giovanni provided her with a challenging opponent, "Machamp, fight with all your strength!" The fighting pokemon flexed his large muscles eager to battle. By then the left over ice from Glalie had melted into the disturbed terrain. "Giga impact!"

As Machamp went on the attack, Ash was quick to counter with, "leaf storm!" Serperior let out a massive tempest of leaves that swirled around her opponent, creating abundant cuts as they went and slowing his approach. Though Machamp continued forward despite the attack, his own attack had little effect after losing momentum. Taking the opportunity, Ash tried to finish the round, "energy ball!"

Urging his pokemon to act quickly, Giovanni countered the move, "focus blast, don't stop!" Machamp let out a rapid succession of blasts, the first colliding with Serperior's energy ball, causing an explosion that damaged both pokemon. The spheres of energy kept being exchanged between the two pokemon until they closed the distance between each other and the attacks resulted impractical.

"Use grass knot again!" Seeing the close proximity that Machamp had to Serperior, Ash hoped that the previous strategy would once again prove fruitful.

However, Machamp was too strong to be contained, which allowed Giovanni to take advantage of the situation, "finish her with cross chop!"

The repeated harsh hits collided with Serperior with such a speed and force that she could not dodge or block them. As a result, the impacts rendered her unable to battle. "Serperior!" Beaten, the grass pokemon twitched a little, but was ultimately not capable of getting into a battle stance before her head fell as she lost her grip on reality and fainted. "Good job Serperior, come rest." After recalling Serperior into her pokeball, Ash looked at Machamp and thought of a suitable opponent for him. It was a pokemon that had been training for a long time, though not always with Ash. When he did return to Ash, they found a connection again and were able to train together once more with matching unbreakable spirits. "Primeape, I choose you!"

Machamp was injured from the previous round, but could still battle and was quick to follow Giovanni's order, "another cross chop!" Before Ash could even issue the first command for Primeape, the rowdy pokemon used thrash, something that he often did when he was excited for a fight. The two colliding attacks resulted in damage to both fighting pokemon, who stumbled backwards from the force of the impact.

Seeing the determination in Primeape, Ash called forth a move that would push both pokemon to show their true power and skill in fighting. Surprisingly, his voice rang out at the same time as Giovanni's in a simultaneous decision to determine the battle with "close combat!"

While Primeape and Machamp exchanged blows in a massive display of strength, the two opposing trainers looked beyond the pair of fighters at each other. Perhaps it was their coincidental commands that made them react in such a way, unconsciously looking for similarities one in the other. Both had racing thoughts and for a moment there was nothing in the world but each other and that determined look into each other's eyes that spoke of an unbreakable thirst for victory, yet also something more, to comprehend the other.

Once again focused on the fight, they watched as the close combat continued with punches and kicks. Though Machamp had four arms, Primeape didn't let that fact bother him and exchanged blows on equal ground with Machamp, making good use of angles, momentum and speed to make up for having only a pair of arms to work with. The cuts left behind by Serperior had not sealed and they could not, given the solid hits Primeape was landing. With a final colossal kick Primeape knocked out his opponent, sending the heavily muscled pokemon to crash into a tree. With the ground weakened from the previous attacks, the tree's roots were loose, causing it to fall with the force of Machamp's impact.

As the tree fell, Delia caught a better look at the battle from the mansion's window. She saw as a red beam consumed Machamp as he was returned to his pokeball, while Primeape stood triumphant. The battle was very close so far, Ash and Giovanni were both on their third pokemon and it looked like it would be an all out six on six fight. At that point in time, it could go either way.

To be Continued

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon. The end is near, not only the end of the battle, but also the end of the story.